Sandra Teramo never got to finish the list of local politicians she blames for the rapid expansion of charter schools in Miami-Dade County. “[State Rep.] Erik Fresen, other politicians such as City Commissioner...''

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4:03

Listen as the School Board hushes names during critical remarks and invites them during praise.

“Ma’am, I would appreciate it that you don’t mention names,” came the voice of School Board Chairwoman Perla Tabares Hantman. “Names are not allowed.”

Some 79 South Florida elementary schools will have an extra hour in the day this year, part of a program meant to boost performance at schools with low reading scores on state tests.

Poinciana Park Elementary School, in Liberty City, is one of many schools that’s been on the so-called “Lowest 300” list for several years running. WLRN’s Rowan Moore Gerety spoke with the principal there, Dr. Amrita Prakash, about the ups and downs of the program.

When the latest “School Grades” were released last week, districts across the state scrambled to portray their results in the most favorable light possible: they focused on rules changes that led to a statewide drop in the proportion of A schools (Miami-Dade), or pointed out the number of schools that had held their A grades steady (Broward); they considered “A and B schools” together as a group.

“A successful superintendent has to satisfy many constituencies, keeping high achievers in the system while devoting resources to those who need them most,” Anthony Hamlet told reporters at a Pittsburgh press conference on the day he was tapped as the district’s next superintendent.

As a high school freshman, Aaron Willis was paralyzed from the waist down in a drive-by shooting while riding his bike in Wynwood. Wednesday, Willis graduated from Booker T Washington High School on the honor roll.

Willis wore a look of sheer determination as he walked across the stage to claim his diploma, walking with the aid of crutches and robotic leg supports. The friends and classmates who filled the auditorium lost it, their screams gradually coalescing into chants of “Aaron, Aaron.”

For many students in Florida, summer vacation means finally getting out of the classroom and away from tests and homework. But for some, the Summer also means figuring out where the next meal will come from. Now there are efforts underway to address hunger in North Florida—especially at times when a major food program—the school—is no longer in session.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges Collier County Public Schools are refusing to enroll immigrant students, a violation of federal and state law. Instead, the complaint says, 16- and 17-year-olds from Haiti and Guatemala have been steered to English-only adult-education classes.

Brownsville Middle School students visiting the Police Academy recently got a stark warning from recruit Albert Hightower: “I have friends who’s dead; I have friends who’s in jail…Do not, do not let the environment you’re in right now dictate what you become,” Hightower said, drawing on his own experiences growing up near Brownsville, in Liberty City.

What began as one principal’s decision to change a fundraising event from tackle to a flag football game has flared into a controversy over sexism and tradition entangling scores of frustrated students and parents, the Palm Beach County School Board and the Jupiter Town Council.

What should a school do when parents don’t want their kids to take a standardized test? Public school students across Florida are in the midst of testing season, and state law says the tests are mandatory; there’s no formal mechanism to “opt out.” But plenty of Florida parents are instructing their children to do just that.

Next year’s state budget boasts what Governor Scott has called record funding for K-12 education. After deep cuts spurred by the Recession, per-pupil spending, known as FEFP, or Florida Education Finance Program has indeed hit a new high—but not when you account for inflation.

Both Wanda Gomez’s sons thought the warm weather made it clear where they needed to spend a balmy afternoon last week.“They said, today’s a pool day, but like, we cannot go to pool, because...I have to work,” Gomez says. Such is spring break for a working single mother.